Equatorial scintillation model. Technical report, 1 February 1983-30 April 1985

Technical Report · Mon Sep 30 00:00:00 EDT 1985

OSTI ID:5197761

Fremouw, E J; Robins, R E

Radiowave scintillation in the presence of natural and/or high-altitude nuclear disturbances has the potential to disrupt numerous transionospheric radio and radar systems. This report develops a model characterizing the plasma-density irregularities that produce scintillation in the naturally disturbed equatorial F layer. The model is incorporated into Program WBMOD along with subroutines for computing both link geometry and scintillation indices, the latter by means of phase screen diffraction theory. The model is based on similarly extensive analysis of wideband data from two equatorial stations. It describes irregularities at an effective height of 350 km that are isotropic across the geomagnetic field and elongated by a factor of 50 along the field and whose one-dimensional spatial power spectrum obeys a single-regime power law with a (negative) spectral index of 1.5. The height-integrated spectral strength of the irregularities is modeled as a function of solar epoch (sunspot number), the angle between the sunset terminator and the geomagnetic field line through the equatorial F layer point in question (a measure of seasonal and longitudinal variation), time after E-layer sunset on that field line, and the F-layer magnetic apex latitude of the point. The report also highlights a factor missing from complete characterization of the joint seasonal/longitudinal variation of scintillation, thought to depend upon thermospheric neutral winds.

• Research Organization: Physical Dynamics, Inc., Bellevue, WA (USA)
• OSTI ID: 5197761
• Report Number(s): AD-A-168723/5/XAB; PD-NW-85-342R
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS
GENERAL PHYSICS
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
ATMOSPHERIC EXPLOSIONS
RADIOWAVE RADIATION
F REGION
SCINTILLATIONS
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
COMMUNICATIONS
DENSITY
EQUATOR
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SUNSPOTS
THERMOSPHERE
WIND
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
EXPLOSIONS
IONOSPHERE
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
PLANETARY IONOSPHERES
RADIATIONS
SOLAR ACTIVITY
STARSPOTS
STELLAR ACTIVITY
VARIATIONS
640202* - Atmospheric Physics- Effects of Nuclear Detonations
450202 - Explosions & Explosives- Nuclear- Weaponry- (-1989)